1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and system for communicating information to vehicles from a remote location, and more particularly, to a method and system for broadcasting messages that are intended for a single vehicle. The present invention also relates to a method and system for broadcasting messages to a vehicle including a delete command permitting remote editing of the message.
2. Description of Related Art
There are many instances in which it is desirable to communicate messages to the operator of a vehicle. For example, vehicle manufactures may wish to communicate messages to the vehicle operator to provide reminders to perform periodic maintenance. The upkeep and maintenance of vehicles is essential to maintain a vehicle in good running condition and to maintain the overall reputation of a vehicle manufacturer. If a vehicle malfunctions or breaks down because of user neglect, as opposed to a vehicle defect, not only is the vehicle operator inconvenienced, the reputation of the vehicle manufacturer will be harmed. Thus, as users often neglect to regularly service their vehicles, upgrade their vehicles with improved replacement parts, and in some cases, even forget to replace recalled vehicle parts—it is important to remind users to service their vehicles. In addition to such reminders, vehicle manufacturers may also wish to communicate with vehicle operators regarding lease and loan status, special discounts for vehicle service and replacement parts, and vehicle recall notices.
It is known in the art to communicate broadcast messages using radio signals to many members of the general public. Such messages are not specific to certain vehicle owners, and instead may be received by all vehicle operators within a particular geographic area. For example, a radio station may broadcast a news or entertainment audio program along with an embedded data track that contains an identification of the radio station, the name of the artist or song, and other textual information. A drawback of such information broadcasting systems is that the broadcast messages are communicated to all members of the public, and cannot be targeted for receipt only by specific members of the public, e.g., owners of certain makes/models of vehicles, or for owners of specific vehicles. While other known methods may be used to communicate targeted messages to certain vehicle owners, such as direct mail, telephone and email, there presently exists no way to send targeted electronic messages directly to a vehicle.
As a result, there remains a need for methods and systems that allow for the broadcasting of messages that are targeted for a single vehicle or a single type of vehicle.
Radio broadcast messages may include both audio and visual display information. For example, a radio station may broadcast a news or entertainment audio program along with an embedded data track that contains an identification of the radio station, the name of the artist or song, and other textual information. This information would be displayed on a visual display within the vehicle. Notably, both the audio and video information is presented continuously to the vehicle operator, i.e., the audio and video information cannot be captured for later presentation.
These known information broadcasting systems are unsuitable for communicating specific messages to the vehicle operator for a number of reasons. First, as noted above, the broadcast messages are communicated to all members of the public, and cannot be targeted for receipt only by specific members of the public, e.g., owners of certain makes/models of vehicles. Second, the vehicle operator cannot capture the audio and visual broadcasts for later presentation, such as at a later time when the vehicle is not in motion and it is convenient to review the broadcast message. The audio and visual broadcasts are presented in real time, and if the vehicle operator misses them there is no recourse. Of course, since the messages are not used to convey important information, and are limited to advertising messages and the like, there has heretofore been no reason to capture them. Third, the broadcasting systems have no way to recall or change a broadcast message communicated to the vehicle after it has been sent. A broadcast message may erroneously contain incorrect information or information that has already become stale. Although the information broadcasting systems could simply rebroadcast additional corrected messages, this proliferation of messages to the vehicle operator represents an irritation that the information broadcasting systems would be keen to avoid.
As a result, there remains a need for methods that allow for the targeted transmission of broadcast messages to vehicle operators in a manner that permits selective playback by vehicle operators, and that allow for the subsequent correction of already broadcasted messages.